SEPTETO NACIONAL IGNACIO PIÑEIRO

Septeto Nacional de Ignacio Piñeiro or Septeto Nacional (National Septet) is the group credited with evolving the sound of Cuban Son.

Not satisfied by the existing sound of the Son groups of the 20’s, Ignacio Piñeiro created his own group: the 'Septeto Nacional'. Piñeiro’s innovation was to add trumpet to the guitars, percussion and voices of previous son groups, bringing songs with an ever-changing countermelody and prefiguring salsa’s horn sections.

In 1928, Son and Septeto Nacional were the sensation of the Ibero American Fair in Sevilla having introduced the new musical rhythm to the European audience. The new sound of Cuba also made headlines at the "Century of Progress" World Exposition in Chicago in 1933. As band leader, Ignacio Piñeiro had written many songs that became Latin classics and earned fans all over the Americas including George Gershwin; Gershwin quotes a melodic phrase from "Echale Salsita" in his ‘Cuban Overture.’

The Septeto, which has replaced all its musicians through the years — Piñeiro died in 1969 — still plays the Piñeiro repertoire. Its Cuban son; rumbas, Canción, and boleros, are music of precision, formative potency, and revenant drive.

The group’s new compositions in the traditional Son genre are still relevant in modern Cuba and the Americas; so much so that its CD Poetas del Son was nominated for a Grammy in 2004 (Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album category).

Presently, Septeto Nacional is made up of Eugenio – El Raspa - R. Rodriguez (vocals), Francisco D. Oropesa-Fernandez (bongo), Enrique Collazo (Cuban tres guitar), Dagoberto Sacerio Oliva (guitar/vocals), Augustin Someillan Garcia (trumpet), Raul Acea Rivera (contra-bass) and Julio Martinez Hernandez (maracas/vocals). This current configuration invokes the spirit of Havana from the 1920’s in their music while delivering the lush smooth sounds of contemporary Cuba to its audience.

TOUR DATES

BOOKING AVAILABILITY:

Summer Festival Tour/North America: June ~ July 2012

North American PAC Tour: November 2012

South America/Mexico: General Availability